Riaspa

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 27, 2026.

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“To a dwarf she appears strong; to the elf she appears slender; and to the orc, she seems furious. A Riaspa lives in the eye of the beholder.”

– Palaris, the Pure

***

It is difficult to describe Riaspa, because few can agree on all of their features, or even of the physical description of one particular Riaspa. Whether a given Riaspa could be counted as slender or stocky depends as much on the qualities of the person telling you about her as anything else. Each person who knows a given Riaspa seems to see at least something of themselves in her.

The flexible qualities of a Riaspa are not entirely limited to her physical appearance as their associates always seem to see their own moral qualities and personality characteristics in the behavior of a Riaspa. These creatures are blessed with a number of powers reflecting their ability to mirror and reflect the skills and powers of those around them. For their own part, Riaspa seem to revel in social interaction and take great pleasure in flirting with the values and skills of their companions.

Some might wonder just what a Riaspa is really like, but this question misses the point entirely. These creatures are always a reflection of those around them.

It should be added that most seem to be rather pleased by what they see in a Rhiaspa.

Rules for playing a Riaspa in Tunnels & Trolls can be found here.

Dream Reaver

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 27, 2026.

***

“Do you see the dark circles under his eyes? The pallor of his skin? Do you wonder what happened to the well-fed belly he once carried? The old monarch has not slept in 4 days. He awoke screaming the last time he tried. He does not dream anymore, not without terror. Some powerful being has its eyes on our liege. It will not let go until he withers to nothing.”

– Gorah Tomiwin, Courtier

***

A Dream Reaver is often mistaken for a Lich. Much as a Lich, a Dream Reaver appears to be a rotting corpse, but its life is not prolonged by science. A Dream Reaver is sustained by rage alone. It lives for the sole purpose of terrorizing the living and destroying what peace they might enjoy. It does this by invading their dreams, attacking them as they sleep.

It is thought that great disasters or terrible atrocities give birth to these creatures. When thousands die, the power of their suffering spirits will sometimes come to rest in the corpse of a single victim, prolonging its life and enabling it to seek revenge upon the living.

A Dream Reaver will rarely move about. It sleeps constantly, but in its dreams it will ever out seek new victims.

Gremlin

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 27, 2026.

***

“Gremlins do not exist.” – a well known fact.

Of these creatures, little can be said. If Gremlins did exist, they could be described as highly stealthy creatures that live to cause mischief and disrupt the plans of others. But that is of course a mere superstition.

It is sometimes claimed that Gremlins have been captured or found dead. In all such cases, it seems pretty clear that the creature in question was but a tiny Goblin of unusual ability.

It should also be said that among these fictional creatures that do not actually exist, it is considered very bad form to be seen, heard, or otherwise known to exist. All Gremlins are expected to ensure that they do not exist as far as others are concerned, and to go to great lengths in doing so.

Devil Dog (Tunnels & Trolls)

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A General narrative about Devil Dogs can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

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Devil Dog: Str: 1, Con: 1, Dex: .75, Lk: 1.5, IQ: 1.25, Wiz: .75, SP: 1, Chr: 1.25.

Height: 1, Weight: 1

Language(s): Devil Dogs speak Canis.

Devil Dogs have the following special qualities:

  • Devil Dogs get +1 add per ally fighting in the same group to a maximum equal to their level.
  • Devil Dogs run at twice the normal rate of movement.
  • Any wounded characters suffer 1 extra point of damage for every point of spite damage inflicted upon them in combat with Devil Dogs.

Standard Monster Rating: 40.

Draugr (Tunnels & Trolls)

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A General narrative about Draugr can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

***

Draugr: Str: 1.1, Con: 1.1, Dex: .75, Lk: 1, IQ: 1, Wiz: .1.25, SP: 1 Chr: 1.25.

Height: 1, Weight: 1

Language(s): Draugr speak Necrotic in addition to their native language in life (usually a local human tongue).

Draugr have the following special qualities:

  • Draugr suffer a penalty of -2 on all die rolls in bright light, -4 in direct sunlight.
  • If Draugr inflict damage on an opponent for any reason other than spite damage, they add a bonus to damage equal to the malaise of the target.
  • Draugr add 1d6 to rolls for melee combat in a graveyard or within 3” of a grave.

Standard Monster Rating: 40.

 

Draugr

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 26, 2026.

***

People tell a lot of stories about Draugr, but nobody really knows how they come into

being. Their goals can be gathered from their actions easily enough, but they are always something of a mystery.

By most accounts, Draugr had some connection to death even in life. In most cases, they are humans who possessed the quality of Death in their actual lives. Still, there have been cases in which no trace of death was noticed in life, and still others in which elves or other kindreds somehow become Draugr. In some rare occasions, all or most of an army rises from the dead to take on this form. In any event, Draugr lose most of their living traits and abilities as they take on their undead form. Each retains a few small characteristics and abilities from their former lives. They can usually speak their native language as living creatures, and they typically retain some value from their former lives along with one natural characteristics and one professional skill. In all other respects, Draugr all take on the same abilities.

Although Draugr fall readily into the role of soldiers, other aspects of their behavior varies from one to the next. Traces of their former lives can be seen in the behavior of Draugr. They will often exhibit the moral values and professional skills of their former selves, albeit always carried out in the absence of any real joy. Their afterlives are always a mere shadow of the ones they once led. Only in battle, do they show any real investment in what they are doing.

The one constant in the behavior of Draugr is their penchant for protecting the dead and the domain of the dead. Graveyards of any kind are sacred to Draugr, as are the bodies of any who have been buried in any form. They are particularly interested in punishing those who steal from the dead. They don’t seem to mind when warriors loot the bodies of slain enemies, but should anyone steal from a grave, they will incur the wrath pf the Draugr. In rare cases, a kinder than usual Draugr has been content to return stolen items to the grave when the thief was smart enough to surrender them. In most cases, anyone foolish enough to steal from the dead had best prey that these warriors never learn about it.

Rules for playing Draugr in Tunnels & Trolls can be found here.

Devil Dog

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 26, 2026.

***

“Four days. That’s how long they stalked us. You just see dark shapes in the night with yellow glowing eyes. In the day they’d be gone. That night, sure enough, we’d have ‘em circling the camp again. Nobody quite knew what they were up to. But it wasn’t god; that’s for sure.

When they finally attacked, it was right after the bout with the ogre. We were hurt, and we’d used up a lot of our spells. The fiends came right in and went straight for one of our two guards, the archer. The main pack swarmed him from all sides, but one beast took his time, just waiting for an opening. Our Healer did what he could but Vernis died that night. Then they fled before the rest of us could get fully involved in the fighting.

– The next night they came back for the Healer…”

– Jamis Canavecht, Sole Survivor of the Goblin Pass Massacre.

***

Devil Dogs are dark black in color, so dark in fact that they appear as one dimensional creatures because no light reflects off of these creatures to suggest the contours of a body. The only color one sees on a Devil Dog is the faint yellow glow of its eyes. Although capable of eating just about anything made of meat, Devil Dogs’ clear preference for human and elven prey.

Devil Dogs are excellent strategists who make good use of hit and run tactics. Rarely does a pack of Devil Dogs move in for a sustained battle, preferring instead to pick off enemy one by one, beginning first with archers and spell casters and finishing up with the most deadly melee combatants. Devil Dogs know the distance between major settlements, and they will factor this into their own plans. A victim or two a night is usually sufficient for their purposes, and a final battle just before the prey make it to civilization.

Rules for playing Devil Dogs in Tunnels & Trolls can be found here.

Sun Dog

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 26, 2026.

***

“Sometimes, when you look at a sunset, well it just seems like you see three suns instead of one. The other two? Well, those are the sun dogs.”

– Anonymous

***

Sun Dogs are elemental creatures of light. Although exceedingly rare, these creatures sometimes come into being at sunset. Sun Dogs have one and only one purpose in their short lives, and that is to hunt down and destroy creatures of darkness. They will seek out any creature with the trait of darkness and attack without mercy.

Should a Sun Dog survive a full evening of hunting, it will dissipate in the morning. By all appearances, a Sun Dog simply dissipates, merging with the light of a new day.

Note: Sundogs will virtually always possess average experience.